This week, we are reflecting on the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to save us from our sins, which we remember each year on Good Friday. To read the daily devos focused on Easter and the resurrection of Jesus based on Pastor Mark’s new book “Alive: 21 Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ”, click here. For a free PDF copy of Pastor Mark & Dr. Breshears’ Doctrine book, click here, and read chapter 8 about the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:3 – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…
A third of the content of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – detail the final week of Jesus’ life. The book of John alone, written by the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (Jn. 20:2), dedicates half of its content to the first 33 years of Jesus’ life, while the other half covers the final week of His life leading up to the cross.
One of the earliest things written in the Bible about the cross of Jesus Christ is in 1 Corinthians 15, written by Paul, who wrote more books of the New Testament than anyone else. Part of 15:3 says very simply that “Christ died for our sins” and today, we’ll look, in painstaking detail, at what each of those words means.
Christ: Who we’re talking about is Jesus Christ – Jesus is a derivative of Joshua meaning “God is salvation” or God is my savior” while Christ is His title meaning “anointed one”, “chosen one”, or “Messiah”. He lived roughly 2,000 years ago, living in relative obscurity for the first 30 years of His life before starting His short public ministry for around three years. He accomplished more in a brief window of time than anyone in the history of our planet. He is the Son of God who came to earth in human form.
Died: Jesus was crucified, which means hanging on a cross, and this was most likely a common practice that was witnessed publicly in that day. Crucifixion was state-sponsored terror, much like a jihadist beheading that is simulcast on the internet. The entire goal of the state was to install fear and terror in anyone who may try to act like the person being crucified. Jesus had to carry His own cross before nails were driven into His hands and feet. The pain was so intense that the word “excruciating” came from this practice, meaning “from the cross”.
For Our Sins: None of us will die and stand before a mirror to give an account for our lives. You are not creator, you are not redeemed, you are not savior, and you are not judge, but ultimately God is perfect, and God doesn’t edit His laws because God gets it right the first time. We talk about their sin, not my sin, because we wall want to be victims and we conveniently overlook the fact that we’re all villains. You are not born a friend of God; you are born an enemy of God. God knows your thoughts, God hears every word you have ever spoken, God sees every word you have ever typed, God knows every motive you have ever had. There is nothing hidden from the sight of God.
As Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We could do absolutely nothing to save ourselves but Jesus, on the cross, did absolutely everything we needed to be saved and reconciled to relationship with Him forever. This is one of innumerable reasons He is ultimately worthy of all our praise.
Do you completely and confidently believe that, because of your faith in Jesus Christ, all of your sin and debt to God is paid in full?
Today’s daily devo is based on and adapted from Pastor Mark’s 2021 Good Friday sermon. To watch the full sermon, click here.
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